236 réponses à ce sujet

[Qutayba]

First of all, I love Skyrim.  TES is my favorite game series (Morrowind is still the best - in its time.  Don't bother with it now until Skywind).  The strength of TES is that it's a sandbox world "simulator," where the weird, unscripted interactions of the various NPC's and monsters create a living, breathing world.  BioWare's RPG's tend to excel in cinematic storytelling and characterization (areas where Bethesda is rather weak) - which is evident in DA:I, even if not all companions are created equally interesting.  

 

I love Inquisition.  It's a vast, generous game.  But it's very clear they're making up for the stinginess that was DA2 (which had it's strengths, but variety of scenery was not one of them).  In doing so, they embraced the ideas of their chief competitors: TES and the Witcher.  This is NOT a bad thing, in itself, but I agree with the OP that something of BioWare's strength - focused storytelling - gets lost in the vastness of their generosity.

 

Overall, Inquisition deserves the praise it's getting, and I'm having a blast, but they're going in so many new fascinating directions at once that the distinctiveness of the Dragon Age series is somewhat diluted,  It's a success story, and a big one at that.  But the shift to completing collections in the questing does tend to overshadow the story-driven missions by quite a bit.

[Linkenski]

I appreciate it for Bioware doing something I haven't seen them do before. It's not AS generic as how Mass Effect (d)evolved from ME1 to ME3 (more and more action, less and less exploration) but with that said I do find the mix of open-world exploration vs narrative-based game to clash here. The game world is not only too big, but the actual story-rich quests with story-based objectives are buried so deep underneath a gigantic rubble of WoW time-sink questing that it just drags it down for me. Then, when you finally go to the main quest it feels like you're playing DA:O or DA2 again. The clash of genre simply doesn't sit well with me.

 

So while I liked what they were trying to do, they really outdid themselves in a bit of a clumsy way to be honest. I hope they will, or EA lets them, return to a more focused narrative-driven game experience. I don't want Mass Effect Inquisition next. I want Mass Effect with a rich open world that is INTERESTING to explore.

[Freygea]

I love all the TES games but I can honestly say DAI has actually topped both Oblivion and Skyrim in my book.  ( Morrowind will always be my all time fav game since it is to blame for making me a gamer all those years ago). 

 

They actually have the perfect balance for me. I can explore or just go head into the main quest when I wish to. The power requirements have not been a problem. Somehow, for me at least, they managed to give me a compelling story ,complex characters and a vibrant open world.

[CronoDragoon]

I think it's just the Hinterlands, really. The other zones are more manageable and actually have story driving them (at least, that's been the case with Crestwood, Valammar, and the Western Approach).

[Dracorya]

Had a discussion with my friend over this. I was describing to him how side quests were in the game he said it smacked a little too much of Skyrim to him. He pointed out that the main draw of Bioware games of the fanbase is just the design of the games, aka being a little bit more linear and not too much open world.

 

Having to go to a zone with one main quest, but then bounce all over the place doing honestly generic side quests that are just different variations of the same thing gets a little tedious.

 

If people wanted to play such an open world concept, then pick up Skyrim. I would prefer that the quests that are being done in a Dragon Age game had a more meaningful impact and reason to the main storyline.

[pengwin21]

I dunno I find it works pretty well. Go to a zone and do sidequesty stuff, then go do some main story, talk to companions or do a companion quest, etc. I don't even come close to completely clearing zones so I've been able to switch it up pretty well.

[pdusen]

Having to go to a zone with one main quest, but then bounce all over the place doing honestly generic side quests that are just different variations of the same thing gets a little tedious.

 

I imagine it would, if you had to do that.

[Melca36]

Nope. Not interested in linear gaming or having everything handed to me.

 

The game is freaking fun. Sorry you don't enjoy it but some of us do. I am getting my money's worth.

[Melca36]

No.

 

I didn't ask for your advice on what to do btw.

 

 

I'd definitely not classify "bring me 10 ram meat" or "bring these 2347842 dead people things to their 2384734 wives / husbands" as quality content.

 

 

And Mass Effect 2 is widely considered the best one in the series, it also sold more than Mass Effect by a fair margin.

 

I think people are not considering the fact that if Inquisition wasn't such a "big" game we would already have Dragon Age 4 on the horizon.

 

So you are saying you want short development cycles because you enjoy subpar games?

 

Let me point something out------------

 

Dragon Age Origins came out in 2009...I believe it was announced in 2004

 

Dragon Age Awakening came out in 2010

 

Dragon Age 2 came out in 2011  

 

Dragon Age Inquisition in 2014

 

Mass Effect 1 was 2007 if I recall correctly

 

Mass Effect 2 was 2010  

 

Mass Effect 3 was 2012

 

 

If there is going to be a DA4...you are not going to see it for a few years and thats the way it should be.  

[Dracorya]

I imagine it would, if you had to do that.

Thanks for completely missing my point.

 

My point is that Bioware has always been known to try and make a game cohesive in terms of their story. Even sidequests can still tie into the main story in some way, just look at Origins. Save this person? Heck, they come back to help you. Or it ends up being a consequence. Or even if they don't affect the main storyline, they make SOMETHING happen that feels meaningful. Or even learning more about the backstory or lore of the world.

 

Basically, Bioware already had the "meat" of the game in terms of the main story for DAI. Instead of building off that, they chose to add a lot of chaff to bulk it up instead of adding things that would compliment the meat. Run and fetch this. Stick this here. Go kill these things just to gather more stuff. Yeah, I don't have to do these and they won't punish me storywise...and that's the part I don't like. I don't really gain anything out of these quests other then XP and gold or some shiny item.

 

Don't get me wrong, I still like the game. But if I had had a chance for them to take the time to wind the quests together into a real meal instead of a generic fast food burger I would have been happier. Maybe they got too close to the crunch time and realized they needed something to fluff up the game more.

 

This is all I have to say on the matter. Debate all you want.

[Praehotec]

Don't like it don't play it... Simple.

 

Actually, it's not.  Many of us enjoy the game, but wish there were an open world filled with truly interesting side quests chock full of side plots, dialogue, party interaction, and tie-ins to the main plot and meaningful changes to the world that affect the main plot further into the game.

 

Instead we got a huge world with a nice main plot and reams and reams of MMO-style, "find 6 landmarks, gather X resources, etc," quests.  Thirty hours into the game, most of it feels like filler added just so that the game could be sold as, "open world."  It would seem that Bioware responded to criticisms of DA2 being to linear and confined (with re-used environments) by trying to make a world the size of Skyrim's.  The problem is that (as far as I have yet seen) a large portion of the world was populated with trite filler material just so that the space could be filled.  Excellent world-building, mediocre quest writing (for side questing).

 

Look back to games like BG2.  How many side quests were there in those games, and out of them, how many were so sparsely detailed?  Having played BG2 recently, I can answer for you: not many (if any).  In addition, BG2 (and all the infinity engine games, IMO) had detailed and intersting main quests and quite large playable areas.  Sure, in terms of sheer open area DAI may be larger, but I think that BG2 and its ilk indicate that it is very possible to develop more meaningful side quests and still have an appropriately large and non-linear world.  I, for one, would be okay if the Hinterlands was 1/2 of its current size, if each of its quests were twice as interesting.

 

Again, I actually really like DAI, but it's not about whether one enjoys the game or not, and saying, "don't like the quests, don't play them."  Said side quests form a significant portion (the majority, perhaps) of the game...any RPG in fact.  Triple-A epic RPGs are rare enough that missing out on one is not an option for RPG fans.  This is about wanting a game that truly is everything it is promised to be.  Want to brag you have a huge, open world RPG with a deep storyline?  Make one in which ALL of the world is actually filled in a meaningful way.

 

TL;DR - Most of us aren't saying we don't want an open world with oodles of side quests.  We want an open world with fully realized side quests that at least a significant number of will have some meaningful effect on the main story and/or the world in general.  For $60-80 this should not be considered an unreasonable expectation.

[Wolfen09]

Keep the open world, story is fine....  only knock is i would have liked the main story to take us to each location.  So far, the emerald graves, hissing wastes, fallow mire, oasis, and the exalted plains dont get any main story missions, and can be missed if all you're doing is main story.  Other than that, keep the fetch quests, because even though everyone complains, they dont realize that every open world type rpg has been doing that since the beginning of time, mmos especially.  And dont give me that crap that origins didnt make you, yes it did, mass effect 1 did as well and everybody thinks they were the best games made in the world.  The only game bioware made recently that was so linear, was ME2 and the that actually made me more bored than anything.  ME3 balanced it well.  DA2 well, not very many fetch quests, and they made you do the side quests.  This is a fair compromise to what could have been made, so be happy that the game wasnt delayed another year.

[Rizaun]

Game developers have a hard time pleasing people because the gamers themselves have no idea of what they want or they are greedy and want too much.

[Vhex]

Try final fantasy, sounds like more your style of game. :L

[Keithian]

No OP, because this is exactly what I was hoping they would make. Its like part origins, part DA2, and party Skyrim in that its more explorable. Had they made it linear like the first two, I would not have played, so BIG no for me!

[Torrential]

 

 

Having to go to a zone with one main quest, but then bounce all over the place doing honestly generic side quests that are just different variations of the same thing gets a little tedious.

 

If people wanted to play such an open world concept, then pick up Skyrim. I would prefer that the quests that are being done in a Dragon Age game had a more meaningful impact and reason to the main storyline.

Open world is a different point to meaningful quests.

Meaningful quest design is one thing.
Large landscapes are another.

It's not even the quest type, it's really how that impacts the game. DA:I has more impact than most games, but still some more visible additions and feedback would have helped.

[Torrential]

It is exactly how game development works, good sir.

 

Smaller games need less content which means a shorter development cycle and therefore less time before everyone moves on to the next thing.

No good sir, because I wouldn't be buying DA 4 if that were the case. It took a lot to get me to buy DA3 after DA2's mess.

 

1 year is not enough of a development cycle, 3 years is optimal. However the more years the better, as the final product is more polished.

You are assuming more time = more content, which is not the case. More time can = a large game world, it can = more features, it can = more bug fixing, it can = a change of project direction, it can = more dialogue, better graphics, an upgrade to the engine or perfomance etc, etc.

 

Also this is why DLC existed in the first place, to keep people interested and involved in the project. Something I facepalm at every time when people complain about.

[Warden Majere]

To be honest, I hate the Hinterlands. It is my least favorite area in the game (other than that Fereldan Frostback fight  ), and I avoide it like the Black Death! But the other areas of the game are fantastic! Not to mention the latter parts of the story.... Emprise du Lion is fairly linear, while still open world, with very little fetch quests. Not to mention the beautiful scenery  The Emerald Graves are magnificently done, and extremely expansive without all of the mediocre side quests. This game is by far my favorite DA game so far, but only barely comes ahead of Origins. I truly hope that they never go back to the old format, and just refine this format instead. I am truly ashamed for all of the "fans" that rag on everything Bioware does that isn't DA:O. This is a beautiful project that Bioware put a lot of heart into, and it is despicable that, for some "fans", they can do nothing right. 

 

So while this may be off topic, I want to give a huge shout out to Bioware, for continuing to give us some of the best RPGs on the market. Yes, I even include ME3 into that mix hahaha

[AlanC9]

As a person who always plays RPG's to 100% completion, DAI has been the most tedious Dragon Age game so far. Neither DAO or DA2 felt tedious at any time, even to 100% completion, so I'm kind of disappointed. I still don't understand why they changed the format to a "open" world game. It was just fine the way it was before, imo

Maybe you shouldn't try to play it that way, then? Approaches that work in one game don't necessarily work in another.

Ye gods.... I just imagined that I needed to play Skyrim to 100%.

[Fyurian2]

Recently gotten past Cory Shrapnel-face sacking Haven and into Skyhold (beautiful place) and I can honestly say that so far, the "open worldness" of DA:I feels a lot closer to Baldur's Gate 2 (not quite the first one, as there weren't as many areas that were locked off by plot progression as there were in the second one), and I'm sincerely enjoying my first playthrough so far.

 

Whilst it's different from Bioware's more recent years of games (comparitively speaking), at this point I'd go as far as saying that it's more of a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate than Origins was. Simply because I get almost the same urge to keep playing.

 

Other than a few technical issues (Missing Inguisitor Edition content!), I am sincerely enjoying the game.
Not everyone is going to, as evident from people's complaints of various things, but there's no progress without change and experimentation.

[N7KnightSabre]

I do enjoy it but there's almost too much.  I love the big areas, don't get me wrong, but I play so many sidequests that the main story (the most part important to me) seems so short.  And I know I don't have to play the sidequests, but that's a huge chunk of game you miss if you don't.  I just want a better balance between the two.  

[KaiserShep]

From the looks of things, the game seems pretty linear regardless of all of the extra things you can do. Without reaching each "milestone", you're pretty much going to just wander around doing nothing very quickly. In fact, I'd say that this game is, in a sense, a bit more linear than Origins. With the exception of Ostagar, you can mix and match whatever quests you wish before going to the point of no return.

[Vox Draco]

Well, Mass Effect 2 is my second favourite computer game of all time (after modded Skyrim). And Ive been playing games since ZX Spectrum era. Its a pinnacle of storytelling imo

 

I guess it's very much the wrong place to discuss this but:

 

Spoiler

What story is good here? The whole Collectors-thingy was...a waste of time. Instead of having a galaxy preparing for war against the Reapers, they went back to good old status quo with all planets very much behaving like the mayors in catastrophe-movies ("we cannot evacuate the city because of the volcano! It will panick the tourists!) Instead of a true focus on the Reaper-storyline we got an over-abundance of recruiting-missions of chars. Some good, many simply unnecessary (Jacob, really?). I could go on and on - in a different thread

 

Praising ME2-story maybe works if you look at it on its own, without the MassEffect-main-story. Add the game to the franchise, and it becomes obvious they lost their own vision here and never had a clue what this main story was supposed to be like. Very much like the prequel-trilogy of Star Wars ... an incoherent mess.

 

And that's also the reason why I love that they never brought back the Warden, never tried to make Hawke the next Shepard, and every DA-game is somewhat its own game and story...because ME-series failed in telling a good, focused main-story over the course of three games ... and it became apparent with ME2 they failed.

 

More on topic: I am actually not totally opposed against more "linear" DA-games, with more personal storylines like DA2 had, a more condensed focus, a smaller area and less locations ... why not have these kind of games as well? And while we play those games the main Bioware-team works on the next BIG THING. As long as they don't recycle dungeons and make over-the-top-battles, I wouldn't mind that at all, really ...

[Proteus7]

Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a MMO vet, but I'm okay with the direction they've gone with the more open world. I find the environments gorgeous, which helps. Also, they didn't pack respawning mobs into every square inch of real estate, which is good. You can actually explore around without having to fight every 10 feet.

I prefer this game world to DA2, for sure.